Prism of Praise raises $14,000 during Allison Taylor memorial

August 9, 2013

Prism of Praise helps families and friends express feelings through music

NARRAGANSETT- The community gospel choir Prism of Praise raised more than $14,000 for the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence during the love offering for Allison Taylor on Saturday.

Prism of Praise member Katie Carlson said that more than 200 people attended the remembrance and the choir was overwhelmed by the amount of people who came to show their support for the Taylor family.
âIt truly was one of our best concerts and so many people from the church and the town came,â said Carlson. âWe usually have a break between our songs but we played for two hours straight and just thrived off of the positive energy and the support from the crowd. It was truly inspiring and amazing.â
The purpose of the offering was to surround the family of Allison Taylor with love, fellowship and support. Carlson originally suggested that the community gospel choir perform as a way to reach out to the family in their time of need.
According to Father Casey in his letter to the parish of St. Peterâs By the Sea, Allison was a member of the St. Peterâs community and he encouraged everyone to attend and support all members of the parish.
âMostly I hope we can all expand our vision of our community and recognize that St. Peterâs includes many we may never meet, but who are nevertheless very much a part of our beloved church,â said Casey.
The choir began the remembrance with songs based on hope and faith and then gradually changed to more uplifting gospels.
Carlson said that she was very pleased that members of the Taylor family attended the event, including the two daughters of Allison. She said that one of the best moments for her personally was to see the reactions of the daughters when they realized how many people were there to support them.
âIt was just so moving and incredible to see the amount of love running through the crowd and I canât even describe how moving it was to see the daughters at the event,â said Carlson. âThe last time I felt such an overwhelming amount of love was when I held my son. I canât even describe it; it is just an unimaginable amount of love.â
The Prism of Praise hopes to continue to help friends and families express their feelings through music.
âThis is really what we had hoped for. It was incredible to just watch them transform from being very nervous and kind of afraid of what would happen and then as the night went on it got to the point where they were clapping and singing along,â said Carlson. âOne of her daughters actually left a note saying she left feeling hopeful and happy, and that was the greatest thing that I could ever imagine hearing.â